For some time now, sequels seem to be gaining less and less favor with critics and the public, but longtime fans of the Baldur’s Gate series know well that for the BioWare creature it was not at all like that. If in 1998 the first chapter actually established itself within its own genre as the masterpiece that we still remember today, in 2000 Baldur’s Gate II at least managed to match the company, returning us to its endless fantasy universe based on Dungeons & Dragons. Thanks to the magnificent combination, this very universe has become a real cult over the past decade, surviving in the memory of fans even the many other RPGs that have hit the market. But insisting on the success of Baldur’s Gate, Twelve months later, Overhaul Games has finally brought Baldur’s Gate II back to our screens. Given the opportunity that was offered to us, we naturally took the opportunity to go back once more to roll around the Costa dell Spada, to see what the developers have been up to in this new remake.
Table of Contents
THE PRISON IS MEGL CHE UAN
To make sure we get it right, the folks at Overhaul Games have included in this Enhanced Edition both the basic version of Baldur’s Gate II, subtitled Shadows of Amn, and the Throne of Bhaal expansion, which dates back to 2001. With them basically ends the story dedicated to the magician’s protégé Gorion, known during the adventure told in the first chapter. In the hope that even in this case you already know what is narrated inside Baldur’s Gate II and its expansion, let’s do a brief summary for the benefit of those who have recently played the first chapter (again, we only excuse you if they were too young at the time). This time the protagonist of the adventure wakes up in a dark prison, with no memory of how he got there. However, he soon learns that he has been imprisoned there by a mysterious wizard named Jon Irenicus, who intends to perform some experiments on him. Just as he is being tortured by the magician, our hero witnesses the intervention of the old acquaintance Imoen, who frees him from the cage in which he is imprisoned. However, it will only be the beginning of a convulsive story, since it will be the protagonist’s childhood friend who will pay the price, who will therefore find himself with many questions and with the mission of finding her again, in an unknown territory for he. him as the region of Amn. The events of Throne of Bhaal instead tell us the final moments of the fight between those who represent the progeny of the God of Murder, with our protagonist again involved in first person: in unfamiliar territory for him. him as the region of Amn. The events of Throne of Bhaal instead tell us the final moments of the fight between those who represent the progeny of the God of Murder, with our protagonist again involved in first person: in unfamiliar territory for him. him as the region of Amn. The events of Throne of Bhaal instead tell us the final moments of the fight between those who represent the progeny of the God of Murder, with our protagonist again involved in first person:Needless to say, even in this case, the plot is still at the highest level even after more than 10 years since its making.
THE FORMULA DOESN’T CHANGE
Baldur’s Gate II Enhanced Edition follows quite closely what the development team did for the first chapter, starting with the addition of the new characters: three of them are already known, as they are the monk Rasaad yn Bashir, from the wild the sorceress Neera and the scoundrel Dorn Il-Khan, all of whom can be recruited back into your playgroup. They are joined by the mysterious thief Hexxat, who adds her own story to the story of Baldur’s Gate II.already composed of a main plot and many side missions that give the game a practically infinite dimension. Even the aforementioned trio returns with new missions about the background of each of its components, for which some new ad hoc scenarios have been created both within Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal. A rather welcome addition, given that this is previously unreleased gameplay material, although Overhaul Games members don’t want it, the difference to the content originally created by BioWare is quite apparent. Continuing with the list of similarities with the previous Enhanced Edition, in Baldur’s Gate II version 2013 we also find the mode called The Black Pits 2, which is practically an evolution of the Black Pits already seen a year ago.
Again, the main feature is to have the player fight inside an arena. In this sense, the effort of the developers to give the mode a context, such as the dialogue parts present and the arrival of a new figure inside the arena, that is, a kind of presenter who comments on what happens during the battle, it is appreciable. Although the game’s tutorial is always present, revised for the occasion, keep in mind that even Baldur’s Gate II isn’t among the simplest RPGs ever, so newbies might do well to bring back the first chapter before launching into this one. Particularly welcome, since death is always around the corner, the ability to use a button to perform a quick save. In this sense, the effort of the developers to give the mode a context, such as the dialogue parts present and the arrival of a new figure inside the arena, that is, a kind of presenter who comments on what happens during the battle, it is appreciable.
Although the game’s tutorial is always present, revised for the occasion, keep in mind that even Baldur’s Gate II isn’t among the simplest RPGs ever, so newbies might do well to bring back the first chapter before launching into this one. . Particularly welcome, given that death is always around the corner, the ability to use a button to perform a quick save. In this sense, the effort of the developers to give the mode a context, such as the dialogue parts present and the arrival of a new figure inside the arena, that is, a kind of presenter who comments on what happens during the battle, it is appreciable. Although the game’s tutorial is always present, revised for the occasion, keep in mind that even Baldur’s Gate II isn’t among the simplest RPGs ever, so newbies might do well to bring back the first chapter before launching into this one. . Particularly welcome, given that death is always around the corner, the ability to use a button to perform a quick save. like the dialogue parts present and the arrival of a new figure inside the arena, that is to say a kind of presenter who comments on what happens during the battle, it is appreciable. Although the game’s tutorial is always present, revised for the occasion, keep in mind that even Baldur’s Gate II isn’t among the simplest RPGs ever, so newbies might do well to bring back the first chapter before launching into this one. . Particularly welcome, since death is always around the corner, the ability to use a button to perform a quick save. like the dialogue parts present and the arrival of a new figure inside the arena, that is to say a kind of presenter who comments on what happens during the battle, it is appreciable.
ALWAYS TOWARDS INFINITY
We know that it is more or less since the beginning of the review that we have been repeating it: the operations that Overhaul Games carries out on Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition directly follow those of a year ago. The technical sector also fully confirms this statement, within which the zoom is almost useless, since the graininess of the images persists if the detail is increased. Naturally, support for widescreen displays returns this time as well, while the work done to recreate the cut scenes from the first Baldur’s Gate was not carried out this time: good news especially for purists of the old RPG game. , who did not like Overhaul Games’ reinterpretation of the comic strip footage.
According to the developers, the time saved was invested in optimizing and improving the original textures used in the 2000 game: the touch is there and it shows, but we are far from highlighting the impactful differences. The multiplayer also returns and the possibility to play the main adventure together with other people. It’s not exactly bomb-proof encode, though, as Overhaul Games warns of some issues it’s still concerned about.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR PC
Test setup
- The editorial team uses the ASUS CG8250 personal computer
- Processor: Intel Core i7 860 @ 2.8 GHz
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670
- Operating system: Windows 7 64-bit
Minimum requirements
- Operating system: Windows XP
- Processor: 1GHz
- Memory: 512MB
- Video card: OpenGL 2.0 compliant